The Tigers (6-1) rallied from a 19-10 halftime deficit with a ferocious full-court press in the second half that caused numerous turnovers for the host Hawks (6-4).
“We didn’t show up in the first half with the intensity that I thought we should have brought,” Fort Fairfield coach Logan McLaughlin said. “In the second half, they certainly turned things up.”
The Tigers twice overcame 11-point deficits to pull off the thrilling one-point victory.
Fort Fairfield senior Chris Giberson led the way for the Tigers with 11 points, and senior Carter Bruce drained a pair of 3-pointers in the final quarter and finished with nine points.
Hodgdon was led by senior Kevin McAfee who netted 16 points, and seniors Matt Tuttle and Daden Palmer and junior Wyatt Foster each chipped in eight points.
“We like to try and push the tempo as much as possible,” McLaughlin said. “I’d like to not have to do that when we are down and play that hard to get back into a game. If we can start doing that in the first quarter, we’ll be good.”
It was Hodgdon that was hot early on, as the Hawks soared to an 11-5 lead in the first four minutes of action as the team regularly worked the ball into McAfee’s hands in the post. The Hawks were up 13-6 at the end of the first period and led 19-10 at halftime.
In the fourth quarter, with just 3.8 seconds remaining on the clock and Hodgdon out of timeouts, the Hawks had a chance for the game-winning shot. Hodgdon grabbed a missed free throw by Fort Fairfield and got the ball to Palmer, who lofted a 3-pointer from just inside the half-court line that was off the mark.
Fort Fairfield and Hodgdon have developed a friendly rivalry in recent years, as the two teams have met several times on the court thanks to playoff appearances by both squads. Last season, Fort Fairfield fell three times to Hodgdon, including a 45-38 quarterfinal loss at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
“This was probably one of our biggest crowds of the year, and it was great to have that playoff atmosphere tonight,” Hodgdon coach Rob Smith said. “We struggled a bit with [Fort Fairfield’s] press, and turnovers really hurt us tonight.”
McLaughlin added he felt the two teams presented an interesting matchup problem on the hardwood.
“Hodgdon’s physicality and the zone defense they play is really tough for us,” he said. “Other teams, we can play zone against no problem, but there is something about Hodgdon. They always play us extremely tough.”
Fort Fairfield 6 10 28 44
Hodgdon 13 19 29 43
